Channel 10 reporter Rudie moves to Jolly staff

Preston Rudie, 12-year veteran reporter at WTSP, Channel 10, is leaving to take a job as press spokesman for newly elected U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-St. Petersburg.

Rudie, known in part for his political coverage at WTSP and for winning a number of television journalism awards, will be based in the district rather than Washington, and won’t work on campaigns, only on official congressional office work, he said in an interview today.

Rudie’s move to what reporters sometimes jokingly call “the dark side” doesn’t come without risk. Jolly faces a re-election campaign in November, and holds a district that has been trending Democratic. He narrowly defeated Democrat Alex Sink in a special election in March following the death of U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young.